Aarone Thompson, 6, 11-14-05 Aurora, CO (Father indicted)( Body not found)

[Faith]

Indictment: Missing girl was beaten, denied medical care

2:13 p.m. April 30, 2008

AURORA, Colo. – A young girl was repeatedly beaten and locked in a closet for hours on end because she wet herself, and she may have been dead for two years before her father told police she had run away, according to an indictment against the father released Wednesday.

The 60-count indictment against Aaron Thompson paints a grim picture of brutality against his missing daughter Aarone and seven other children who lived in his suburban Denver home. Thompson faces charges of fatal child abuse, concealing a death, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy.

Prosecutors believe Aarone may have died sometime in 2003, when she was 4 years old, and that Thompson and his girlfriend, Shely Lowe, were able to conceal her death for two years. Thompson didn't report Aarone missing until November 2005, when she would have been 6 years old.

An exhaustive police and FBI search of the area failed to find the child. The indictment alleges she may have been buried in a field. Thompson, jailed on $500,000 bond, has refused to cooperate with investigators.

Thompson's trial is scheduled for June 16. Shely Lowe was implicated in the indictment, but she died in May 2006 of heart problems.

Messages left for James O'Connor, Thompson's public defender, were not immediately returned.

The indictment says the abuse took place between May 12, 2002, and Aug. 31, 2004. At least one child living in the home told detectives that Aarone would be placed in a closet for “part of the day” and into the night as punishment for wetting herself.

Children also described how Aarone was beaten so many times that they lost count.

The last picture of Aarone that the family could provide investigators was taken during a 2002 vacation to the Grand Canyon. She was not enrolled in school, even though at the time she was reported missing she would have been in the first grade.

Sometime in 2003, Thompson and Lowe told the other children that Aarone had moved to Michigan to live with her mother. “After that if anyone asked about Aarone they would get cussed out,” investigators wrote.

Shortly after Aarone disappeared, children in the house described how Aarone's mattress was moved to the garage and her belongings, including her clothes, were put in a bag and placed in the basement.

The children, who are now in foster care, told detectives that Thompson and Lowe sometimes took them to the basement, ordered them to strip naked and “whooped” them with a baseball bat, belts, cords and a broomstick, often leaving scars, the 50-page indictment says. Thompson is charged with numerous counts of abuse in connection with those alleged incidents.

The indictment says Lowe told a male acquaintance in January 2004 that Aarone had stopped breathing in a bathtub and that when Thompson and Lowe couldn't revive her, they buried her body in a “far away” field. Lowe told the acquaintance that Aarone appeared to exhale her last breath as they covered her with dirt.

“They decided they would have to get rid of the body because there was a scar on her back from where they had disciplined her,” he indictment said.

The acquaintance told police he believed Aarone died in the summer or fall of 2003 and that Lowe's main concern was that social services or police would take the other children away.

It wasn't immediately clear why the man – and others Lowe spoke to, according to the document – didn't report their conversations to police before Aarone was reported missing.

In 2004, for example, Lowe told a friend that Aarone had died and that she and Thompson were “thinking of different scenarios of how they were going to pull off Aarone not being there.”

She told her friend she might see an Amber Alert, which is a public alert system for missing children.

Aarone Thompson is still listed as missing by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Thompson reported his daughter missing on Nov. 14, 2005, telling police she had run away after an argument over a cookie. Police launched their search, but by 9 p.m., Thompson told officers he was tired and wanted to go to bed, the indictment says.

“The temperature outside had dropped to about 30 degrees, it was snowing, and his daughter had not been found,” the indictment says.

The indictment was handed up in May 2007 but wasn't made public until The Denver Post and The Associated Press filed suit to gain access under open records laws. It alleges that besides the repeated beatings, Aarone suffered from undernourishment and hadn't been given medical care.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20080430-1413-wst-missinggirl.html

[Roamer]

Those poor kids! And that sweet little angel being beaten to death and starved! I'm glad the woman saved the state some money. I hope this man never again draws a free breath.

[grammybears]

Can anyone tell me what states this family lived in?
I remember reading about this case over at IS, but that was a while ago. I vaguely thinking that she was buried in a field in Texas. I don't why I had this feeling about this case but I think I need to reread about this case along with all the help any of you can give me.

thanks

grammy

[Roamer]

The article is from Aurora, Colorado, grammy.

[TigressPen]

The indictment says Lowe told a male acquaintance in January 2004 that Aarone had stopped breathing in a bathtub and that when Thompson and Lowe couldn't revive her, they buried her body in a “far away” field. Lowe told the acquaintance that Aarone appeared to exhale her last breath as they covered her with dirt.


How sick these two were!! To kill a child in such a manner, then callously put her in a grave as she took her last breathe. I hope they find Thompson guilty and give him death.

[Nut44x4]

Thompson has been held in the Arapahoe County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond since his arrest in May 2007. The 60 counts against him include child abuse resulting in death, abuse of a corpse and assault with a deadly weapon.

Lowe died of a heart condition in 2006.

Thompson waived his right to a speedy trial this fall, a moved that pushed his trial date back from November to June 2009.

Thompson’s trial, which is expected to last six weeks, is now scheduled to start June 15.

Thompson pleaded not guilty in June to all 60 counts, including child abuse resulting in death. By law, defendants have a right to a trial within six months of the day they enter a plea at arraignment.
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2008/12/24/news/doc4952a63e4912c843181059.txt

[emmeblu]

:INhouseReading04:I remember reading about this tragedy a while back.
I'll never in this life time of mine understand how anyone could harm a child.
Thanks for posting this Faith.

:give_rose:For all of the abused children.

[grammybears]

I also remember reading this story and it really broke my heart. I had heard about Lowe and how she died from heart problems. I have always wondered if she had done something to herself to avoid prosecution.
As far as the so called father is concerned I hope they put him away for a very long time if not the death penalty.
I just do not understand how heartless people can be with their own children.
The comments about burying this poor child just made me so sick. If they found her non responsive in the tub and called 911 maybe she would still be alive.
This couple sounds a lot like John Couey. There is no telling what they did to the other children in the home. Just plain awful.

[annalyzer]

Case Handled By:

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1031832c1.jpg
AARONE THOMPSON
http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1031832e1.jpg
Age Progression
Case Type: Endangered Missing
DOB: Nov 30, 1998 Sex: Female
Missing Date: Nov 14, 2005 Race: Black
Age Now: 10 Height: 4'0" (122 cm)
Missing City: AURORA Weight: 60 lbs (27 kg)
Missing State : CO Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC1031832
Circumstances: Aarone's photo is shown age-progressed to 8 years. Aarone was last seen near her home on the afternoon of November 14, 2005. She is missing her top right canine tooth. She was last seen wearing a white sweater, a gray hooded sweatshirt, pink sweatpants, and white sneakers. When Aarone was last seen, her hair was in a ponytail with a pink rubber band.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1031832&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

[annalyzer]

Missing Colorado Girl's Case Turns Into Homicide Investigation
Police Believe 6-Year-Old Was Killed More Than a Year Ago

Nov. 18, 2005

The search for a missing 6-year-old Colorado girl is now a homicide investigation. Police say the child may have been killed more than a year ago and consider her father a "person of interest" in the case.

Aarone Thompson was reported missing on Monday by her father. Police in Aurora, Colo., with the help of the FBI, conducted an intense three-day search, but concluded, after a call from a close friend of the family late Wednesday night, that Aarone was killed in her home perhaps as long as 18 months ago by someone close to her.

"We believe that Aarone was murdered in the home," said acting police Chief Terry Jones. "It [the call] shed some light on the fact that Aarone Thompson may have been murdered in this house on Kepner Drive, not recently, some time ago, but up to a year-and-a-half ago. The individual did have the information [for some time] and I don't know what prompted the fact that the information came forward other than the media coverage that Aarone Thompson was missing."

'Persons of Interest'
No body has been found and no one has been arrested in the case, Jones said. But he said the girl's father, Aaron Thompson, and his live-in girlfriend, Sheley Lowe, are considered "persons of interest" in the case.

Police say they have not yet interviewed Thompson and Lowe since they became "persons of interests" but they have had preliminary talks with seven other children who live in their home. The children, whose ages range from 6 to 15 years old, have been taken into protective custody.

"The children that were in the home, based on the information that we have, may be in danger so they have been taken into protective custody," Jones said. "We believe the children are in danger as a result of Aarone's death."

Thompson, Jones said, told police that Aarone had run away from home after an argument over a cookie. However, he said investigators now believe that Thompson's story was a "fabrication." Various factors, such as lack of cooperation and inconsistent statements, along with the phone call, have led police to consider Thompson and Lowe in the investigation.

"Over a period of days, of course you always have concerns, some of those things had to do with the family -- the demeanor, the inability to get things accomplished that we'd thought a family would want to get accomplished upon reporting a missing child," Jones said. "We were very, very fortunate that someone's conscience prompted them to call us with a piece of information that enabled us to get a search warrant for the home," said Jones.

Family Criticizes Investigation
If Thompson harmed Aarone, Jones said he does not know what prompted him to report her missing. However, he said that Aarone's birthday is Nov. 30 and "something triggered."

The girl's biological mother, Lynette Thompson, is staying in a homeless shelter in Detroit. She told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver that she hasn't seen Aarone since October 2001. She also believes her daughter was the victim of a crime.

"What does a 6-year-old know about running away?" she told the Aurora Sentinel & Daily Sun.

Thompson said her estranged husband is known to have a temper and that she doesn't entirely believe his story that Aarone just fled the house after a fight. The girl's grandfather and grandmother said they talked to Aarone last Christmas, a family spokesman said.

Supporters of Aaron Thompson and Sheley Lowe criticized police for halting their search after only three days and say the girl's father and family have fully cooperated with investigators.

Spokesman Sam Riddle, told KMGH that every member of the family has given DNA samples, fingerprints and answered all of the questions posed by investigators.

"You can't cooperate more than this family," said Riddle. "Colorado law enforcement authorities ought to be showing a lot more compassion for this family and not misportraying them as being noncooperative ... Aurora police -- they need to go back to training because this is family that is in deep pain. Right now the grandfather and other members of the family are passing out leaflets throughout Aurora, trying to find this little girl."

"The thing that disturbs me a lot too is the disparity in treatment that is being afforded to the Thompson family, vis-à-vis, for example the (treatment) that was accorded to the JonBenet Ramsey family in Boulder, Colorado," Riddle continued. "There is a great disparity in terms of how this family is being treated versus the family of JonBenet Ramsey a few years ago," Riddle said.

Police Familiar With Home
Police acknowledged Thursday that the family did allow detectives to conduct one-on-one interviews but said Aarone's father was still not completely cooperative.

"The cooperation has improved but there's still more cooperation that needs to take place," Aurora police spokesman Marcus Dudley said.

Police today will search the Thompson home again. On Wednesday, the FBI searched the home and a trash truck, and police said agents found some items of interest and took them away for further inspection. Investigators would not say what the items were or whether they are involved in the case.

Police have been called to the Thompson home before. Aarone's brother, 11-year-old Aaron, was reported missing from the home in October. He returned a day later.




http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1325602

[annalyzer]

Inmate tells story of death of little Aarone

Man says Shely Lowe shared account of young girl's demise, burial in field

Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News
Published March 22, 2007 at midnight

Indictment details tale of abuse that led to Aarone Thompson's death More Local NewsRocky used Twitter to report its closure World followed closure on Twitter Driveways won't be the same without the Rocky More stories » Aarone Thompson died suddenly after she stopped breathing in a bathtub, but the death was covered up because the child was sexually abused by a sibling and had a bad scar from being disciplined, according to an account by a jail inmate.

Shely Lowe and her boyfriend, Aaron Thompson, buried Aarone in a field out of fear that authorities would take their other seven children away, he said.

Eric Williams broke a long silence this week to share what he says a haunted Lowe told him about Aarone's last hours.

In the late 1990s, Williams fathered two of Lowe's children before she met Thompson, who was Aarone's father. Lowe eventually moved in with Thompson but kept in touch with Williams.

Williams believes Lowe sought him out to make a sort of confession because he was one of the few people she could confide in. She also asked him for money to help pay for an attorney for Thompson, Williams said.

Williams said he's unsure of what happened to the child since she was reported missing in 2005, when she would have been 6.

"I don't know what to believe," Williams said. "But I know she (Lowe) loved our kids. She would do anything to protect those kids."

Williams, 40, is in the Denver County Jail awaiting arraignment on an escape charge from a halfway house. He has spent most of the past few years in prison on various escape and drug charges.

'Justice for Aarone'

Aaron Thompson reported his daughter missing Nov. 14, 2005, but within days Aurora police called off the search and said the child had been murdered up to 18 months earlier. Thompson and Lowe were named as persons of interest, but Lowe died last year and Aarone's body has never been found.

Williams is a key witness in the case, which is in the hands of a grand jury. Because of that proceeding, Aurora police declined to comment on the details of Williams' story except to say they had interviewed him.

"Although this has been a long case, we're not concerned about the time it's taking," said Police Chief Daniel Oates. "Our goal is the ultimate resolution, which is justice for Aarone."

Thompson declined Wednesday to comment on Williams' story. But in the past Lowe and Thompson denied having anything to do with Aarone's death and insisted she may still be alive.

Get-out-of-jail card

Sam Riddle, a Thompson family friend, said Williams was telling a story to get lenient treatment in the courts and to bash Lowe's character.

"He's the one that played the get-out-of- jail card," Riddle said. "This is a guy that Shely had to remove her kids from."

Williams has talked with Aurora police - up to 10 times by his count - but said he decided to talk to the Rocky Mountain News after Lowe's death figured into a case of alleged insurance fraud. Lowe, 33, died last year of heart disease.

The Colorado attorney general is investigating a $100,000 life insurance policy on Lowe that would pay $90,000 to two churches connected to the Rev. Acen Phillips, who has defended the Thompson family.

The policy, which is also part of a civil lawsuit regarding insurance fraud, would pay the remaining $10,000 to Thompson.

"For her to leave nothing to her kids, that's impossible," Williams said. "We always wanted the best for our children."

Jailhouse account

Sitting on a plastic bench at a table, wearing square glasses with court papers in front of him, Williams spoke for four hours Tuesday in a jail meeting room.

He calmly answered most questions but choked up when talking about the safety of the children, including his own, who once lived with Lowe and Thompson. The children have since been removed by social services.

Williams said it was late January 2004 while Lowe was driving him around Denver in a Ford Expedition that she told him about the death of Aarone, whom he had never met.

Aarone was in the bathtub when Lowe turned to do something, Williams said. When Lowe turned to the child again, Aarone had stopped breathing.

Lowe had trained to become a nurse and started mouth-to- mouth resuscitation but could not revive the girl, Williams said.

The bathtub was not bloody, he said, despite an earlier published report indicating he had told that to police. "I don't recall saying anything about no bloody bathtub," he said.

After the incident, according to Williams, "They took Aarone far away and buried her in a field."

The only other person Lowe told was an aunt in Florida, according to Williams. The woman did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment.

In the aftermath of Aarone's death, another child was put on the phone and pretended to be Aarone when Thompson's mother called around Christmas 2003, according to Williams.

Lowe and Thompson came up with a plot to conceal the girl's death, Williams said.

Lowe told him that the original plan was to say Aarone was kidnapped while Thompson was driving to Michigan to get Aarone's birth certificate, Williams said.

What's heaven like?

Williams believes Lowe carried out the other part of the plan, to take the other children to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. However, the idea of the kidnapping story was apparently abandoned.

Williams surmises that Aarone's "disappearance" was reported in November 2005 because a social worker was visiting the home.

Williams says he told two fellow inmates about his conversation with Lowe, and one went to authorities. Police told Williams he could be charged with accessory or conspiracy to murder - he cannot recall which - if he did not cooperate.

Williams says he also agreed to talk to police to protect the safety of the remaining children.

"Any other man would have done the same thing in my shoes," he said. "If he was a man and cared about his children."

Williams did not attend Lowe's funeral; he was in prison at the time. But he said his son Eric Jr. wrote him a letter telling him about his mother's death and asking what heaven was like.

Williams wrote him back.

"I told him heaven is a much better place."

Who's who in nearly 1 1/2-year-old case

• Aarone Thompson is an Aurora girl who was reported missing by her father, Aaron Thompson, on Nov. 14, 2005.

She would have been 6 at the time. Her father described her as "talkative and strong-headed."

Days after police undertook a search for her, they declared that they believed she had been killed up to 18 months earlier. Her body has never been found.

• Aaron Thompson, Aarone's father, was named by police as a "person of interest" in her disappearance.

He spoke with police early on but then drew back.

He also has spoken, sometimes extensively, with the media to declare his innocence.

• Shely Lowe was Aaron's live-in girlfriend.

They had a child who was promptly taken by social services in response to the allegations surrounding Aarone's disappearance.

Lowe, 33, died last year of heart disease.

• Eric Williams, who once had a live-in relationship with Shely Lowe and fathered two of her children, has a criminal history that spans nearly nine years.

The 40-year-old is currently in Denver County Jail, where he is awaiting trial on allegations that he escaped from a Department of Corrections facility.

Records show he's been convicted previously on drug and escape charges. He's also faced a variety of misdemeanor offenses, including trespassing, disturbing the peace and obstructing police.

Williams has been known to use the alias Dustin Henson, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report.

Differing versions

What Shely Lowe told the Rocky Mountain News on Dec. 1, 2005:

• "We've done nothing. We're trying to find our little girl."

• "It's all been inaccurate. The only thing accurate is that the baby's missing."

What Shely Lowe's mother, Mary Lowe, said:

• "She explained to me, 'Mother, I don't know anything. I don't know what's going on.' "

• "She loved her kids. That was the most important thing in her life - her children."

What Shely Lowe allegedly told Eric Williams in January 2004:

• "Aaroné was in the bathroom. I believe she (Lowe) was giving Aaroné a bath at the time. She (Lowe) turned around to do something."

• "Shely was crying and hysterical. She swore she did not do anything to the child. The kid just stopped breathing on her own."

• "Then it was about him (Aaron Thompson). She couldn't let him go to jail. She had to protect him."

Differing versions

What Shely Lowe told the Rocky Mountain News on Dec. 1, 2005:

• "We've done nothing. We're trying to find our little girl."

• "It's all been inaccurate. The only thing accurate is that the baby's missing."

What Shely Lowe's mother, Mary Lowe, said:

• "She explained to me, 'Mother, I don't know anything. I don't know what's going on.' "

• "She loved her kids. That was the most important thing in her life - her children."

What Shely Lowe allegedly told Eric Williams in January 2004:

• "Aaroné was in the bathroom. I believe she (Lowe) was giving Aaroné a bath at the time. She (Lowe) turned around to do something."

• "Shely was crying and hysterical. She swore she did not do anything to the child. The kid just stopped breathing on her own."

• "Then it was about him (Aaron Thompson). She couldn't let him go to jail. She had to protect him."

IN HIS OWN WORDS: ERIC WILLIAMS

Eric Williams recounts his recollection of an alleged conversation with Shely Lowe, in which she admitted that Aarone Thompson was dead:

"When she told me all this she was crying, she was hysterical. She swore she didn't do nothing to the child and the child just stopped breathing on her own. . . . I never wanted to believe that.

Kids don't just up and stop breathing on their own. I told her then she should have called the authorities. But then she told me she was scared that they was gonna take her other kids and she didn't want to lose her other kids.

And I told her if she didn't do anything, she'd get the kids back. . . . You're in a whole bunch of trouble now, because, you know, I mean, you all did away with this child and if you would have just turned it in, they would've found out she didn't breathe on her own or whatever it was.

I mean, she was crying, she was hysterical and she was going through all these emotions and stuff, and I just told her I don't want to be involved in this, this is getting to be too much. . . . It was all bizarre.

But then from that time, when she'd come and pick me up later, it was never about her, it was always about him (Aaron Thompson), that she couldn't let him go to jail, she wouldn't let him go to jail. She had to protect him."



http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/mar/22/inmate-tells-story-of-death-of-little-aarone/

[annalyzer]

Apr 30, 2008 6:33 pm US/Mountain

Thompson Indictment Details Alleged Abuse, Lies

A publicly released indictment details allegations of lies, child abuse and death against Aaron Thompson and his deceased girlfriend Shely Lowe. The couple is accused of child abuse resulting in death in the case of Thompson's daughter, Aarone.

The grand jury indictment said Aarone died because she was undernourished, suffered cruel punishment and was denied medical care. The court documents were released Wednesday morning after the Colorado Supreme Court refused to rehear the case for keeping the indictment sealed.

The indictment recounts stories about Aarone's disappearance from the couple's other children, friends, neighbors and even ex-boyfriends.

Other children in the family said Aarone was repeatedly beaten with a belt and sometimes kept in a front hall closet for hours, other children in her family told police. They said Aarone abused for about two years, beginning in 2002.

Eric Williams, Lowe's ex-boyfriend, claims in his statements that Lowe told him in 2004 that Aarone was riding in a car and crying because she had done something bad.

Williams said Lowe told him when the family got home; Aarone went to the bathtub where she stopped breathing. Lowe told him she tried to give Aarone mouth to mouth but failed.

Lowe and Aaron Thompson decided to get rid of the body because police might find a previous scar on her back. Williams claims Lowe said they took Aarone far away and dug a grave and placed her there as "the last breath was coming out of her body."

He told investigators the conversation happened in early 2004.

Tabitha Graves, a friend of Lowe's, told investigators she was told by Lowe in the summer or fall of 2004 that Aarone didn't come down for breakfast one day and the girl was found not breathing. Lowe allegedly went on to explain that Aaron Thompson asked her not to call 911 and went away for a long time with Aarone's body.

Graves said Lowe told her all this happened months before the story was relayed to Graves.

Graves was later taped by investigators having a conversation with Lowe in which Lowe said if Graves told police what Lowe said before, Lowe would go to jail, Aaron Thompson would get the death penalty and their children would go to social services.

Lowe's aunt reported getting a call from Lowe in the summer of 2003 asking what to do if a "child stops breathing?" The aunt said she told Lowe to call 911 who didn't because she was worried about her children being taken away. The conversation became heated and Lowe reportedly said she or Aaron Thompson was getting ready to discipline a child when she passed out.

Lowe's aunt called a couple days later and Lowe told her "I took care of it," according to the indictment.

Andrew Lowe, one of Shely Lowe's sons, told investigators in an interview that he remembered Aarone being physically disciplined (getting a 'whoopin') sometime between March 2002 and March 2003. After that, he was told Aarone was living in Michigan.

Andrew Lowe also noticed after the incident when he heard Aarone being disciplined and crying in the basement that a shovel in the backyard went missing at the same time Aarone reportedly went to Michigan, according to the indictment.

In the indictment, witnesses and neighbors report the last possible time they remember seeing Aarone was in the summer of 2003. Her last medical treatment, according to investigators, was on May 12, 2002.

Other witnesses said they didn't remember seeing Aarone at the home in the weeks before she was reported missing in November 2005.

Police said the last known picture of her was taken during a trip to the Grand Canyon in the summer of 2002.

Lowe and Thompson both said on TV after they reported Aarone's disappearance that the girl had traveled to Florida with them in the summer of 2005. Police said all of their other children denied Aarone was on the trip. Pictures from the vacation didn't show Aarone, the indictment said.

The indictment recounts several times when Aaron Thompson or Shely Lowe told their children or acquaintances that Aarone had gone to live in Michigan to live with relatives. The relatives told police that didn't happen.

Police said during a search of the home, the DNA of Aarone was found only on pants the size for a 2-year-old to wear.

The indictment alleges Aarone died sometime between May 12, 2002 and August 31, 2004.

The indictment also said the home had beds for seven children in November 2005, even though there would be eight with Aarone. One child reportedly told investigators there were eight beds, but that one was thrown away after Aarone went away. Sales documents support the fact that eight beds were purchased.

A police search of the home also found seven pairs of gloves purchased a couple weeks before Aarone's disappearance became public, seven toothbrushes in the bathroom and seven bags of candy for Halloween.

A pastor reported being contacted by the family in the fall of 2005 with a Christmas list that named all of the children in the home except Aarone.

Aarone Thompson was reported missing from her home in Aurora at age 6 on Nov. 14, 2005. Aaron told police at the time she ran away after an argument over a cookie.

Lowe died of a heart attack on May 12, 2006.

Aaron Thompson is scheduled for trial June 16 in the disappearance and presumed death of Aarone. Aurora police say they believe the girl is dead but her body has not been found.

Aaron Thompson faces 60 separate counts.

The Denver Post and The Associated Press filed suit after an Arapahoe County District judge sealed the indictment. The Supreme Court ordered the entire document released except for the names of alleged victims of child abuse and sexual assault.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/thompson.indictment.unseal.2.712156.html

[annalyzer]

Father Of Missing Aurora Girl Set For Trial

Jury To See 7NEWS' Exclusive Interview With Aaron Thompson

Tom Burke (tom_burke@kmgh.com) and Tony Kovaleski (tony_kovaleski@kmgh.com), CALL7 Investigators

POSTED: 4:54 pm MDT June 17, 2009
UPDATED: 5:56 pm MDT June 17, 2009

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AURORA -- Her disappearance captivated the state and now the trial of her father may soon answer the question: what happened to 6-year-old Aarone Thompson?
The Aurora girl was reported missing on Nov. 14, 2005 by her dad and his live-in girlfriend.
The Aurora Police Department responded with a massive search.
On Nov. 17, the Aurora Police Department announced Aarone may have been missing for more than a year and named her father, Aaron Thompson, and his live-in girlfriend, Shely Lowe, as "persons of interest."
Attorneys for both sides are spending this week setting the framework for what jurors will hear when the trial begins in August.
CALL7 investigator Tony Kovaleski has been inside the courtroom as attorneys for both sides worked to define the scope of information and evidence the jury will see and hear.
One of the issues contended in court on Tuesday was the exclusive 7NEWS interview with Lowe and Thompson from Dec. 1, 2005.
It was the first and only extensive interview the couple agreed to in the days following Aarone's disappearance.
During the hearing, Judge Valeria Spencer decided the jury should view a vast majority of the 21-minute interview between CALL7 Investigator Tony Kovaleski, Shely Lowe, Aaron Thompson and family spokesman Sam Riddle, including this exchange early in the interview:
Kovaleski asked, "Here's a chance to defend yourselves. It's the question everybody wants to know and look right into the camera. Are you responsible for Aarone's death or disappearance?"
Lowe answered, "No."
Aaron Thompson then added, "No, she's not. Neither am I."
At that point Kovaleski asked a direct question to Aarone's father. "Aaron did you kill your daughter?"
Thompson said, "No, I did not. I'm still looking for her."
The couple denied any responsibility for Aarone's death or disappearance.
"If I'm hearing you correctly, you are tired of hearing that you did it?" Kovaleski asked.
"Exactly," replied Thompson.
"We are tired of hearing that we did it and we're also tired of hearing of the fact they are not looking for her. They are doing nothing," said Lowe.

In court, the judge decided the jury will watch and hear that question and response, along with Thompson and Lowe's claim they are not responsible for Aarone's death.
The judge repeatedly said the couple's answers support the conspiracy claims.

Kovaleski asked Thompson, "When was the last time you remember seeing Aarone alive?"
"I remember seeing her when she was going up the stairs. We had an argument and I told her she could sit down or she could go upstairs to her room. I seen her go upstairs to her room and that was the last time I seen her," said Thompson.

The trial of Aaron Thompson is scheduled to start the first week of August and last eight weeks.

Previous Stories:

June 16, 2009: Aaron Thompson In Court On Fatal Child Abuse Charge (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19771973/detail.html)
June 15, 2009: Hearing Set For Aaron Thompson In Missing Daughter Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19755989/detail.html)
June 25, 2008: Dad Pleads Not Guilty In Aarone Thompson Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16707270/detail.html)
April 28, 2008: 60-Count Indictment Against Father May Be Public Wednesday (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16034598/detail.html)
April 7, 2008: Supreme Court Orders Thompson Indictment Unsealed (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15818435/detail.html)
March 1, 2008: Judge May Appoint New Attorneys for Aaron Thompson (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15458517/detail.html)
October 29, 2007: Details To Remain Sealed In Case Of Missing 6-Year-Old Girl (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14453245/detail.html)
October 26, 2007: Judge Rules Probable Cause In Aarone Thompson Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14436039/detail.html)
September 19, 2007: Acen Phillips In Court On Theft, Forgery Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14148625/detail.html)
August 7, 2007: Felony Charges Filed Against Acen Phillips In Insurance Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/13838277/detail.html)
August 7, 2007: Insurance Company Sues Bishop Acen Phillips, Claiming Fraud (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/11242445/detail.html)
May 17, 2007: Suspect Could Spend Rest of Life in Prison (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/13343204/detail.html)
May 17, 2007: Father Indicted In Aarone Thompson Case: 60 Counts (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/13336391/detail.html)
May 16, 2007: Police Arrest Aaron Thompson For Alleged Cruelty To Child (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/13334019/detail.html)
February 28, 2007: Taped Conversation: Shely Lowe Says Aarone Is Dead, Buried (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/11138781/detail.html)
February 5, 2007: Phillips: I've Done Nothing Wrong (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10929417/detail.html)
February 2, 2007: Documents Show Bishop Obtains Insurance For Church Members (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10906069/detail.html)
January 31, 2007: Exclusive: Is Bishop Benefitting From Lowe's Life Insurance? (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10892418/detail.html)
January 31, 2007: Video Archive Of Aarone Thompson Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5477231/detail.html)
January 9, 2007: Aarone Thompson Grand Jury Extends Service (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10707237/detail.html)
November 15, 2006: Still No Arrest 1 Year After Aarone Thompson Disappeared (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10318674/detail.html)
May 16, 2006: Mother Of Shely Lowe Says Daughter Claimed Innocence (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9222237/detail.html)
May 12, 2006: Shely Lowe Dies From Apparent Heart Attack (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9204078/detail.html)
May 5, 2006: Police Chief Certain Arrest Will Result From Aarone Grand Jury (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9169094/detail.html)
May 5, 2006: Aarone Thompson Case Goes To Grand Jury (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9159690/detail.html)
April 20, 2006: Jury: Children Should Not Be Returned To Lowe, Thompson (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/8841785/detail.html)
April 10, 2006: Custody Hearing Held In Aarone Thompson Case (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/8593260/detail.html)
March 29, 2006: Teens From Missing Girl's Family Say She Wasn't Killed (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/8333036/detail.html)
March 14, 2006: Report: Woman In Missing Child Case Jailed (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/7986288/detail.html)
December 8, 2005: Father Of Missing Girl Still Wants Investigator's Notes (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5490716/detail.html)
December 6, 2005: Report: Girl Buried In Field (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5474086/detail.html)
December 2, 2005: Chief Responds To Thompson, Lowe's Interview With 7NEWS (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5454529/detail.html)
December 2, 2005: Transcript From Exclusive Interview With Aaron Thompson, Shely Lowe (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5448639/detail.html)
December 2, 2005: Transcript, Pt. 3, From Exclusive Interview With Aaron Thompson, Shely Lowe (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5449879/detail.html)
December 2, 2005: Transcript, Pt. 2, From Exclusive Interview With Aaron Thompson, Shely Lowe (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5449904/detail.html)
December 2, 2005: Exclusive: Aaron Thompson, Shely Lowe Talk To 7NEWS (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5446721/detail.html)
December 1, 2005: Report: Missing Aurora Girl's Name Not On Christmas List (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5441711/detail.html)
November 29, 2005: Aarone's Dad Won't Get To See Police Notes, For Now (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5429328/detail.html)
November 25, 2005: Volunteers Go Door-To-Door In Search Of Missing Girl (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5403998/detail.html)



http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html

[annalyzer]

AARONE THOMPSON CASE

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/2005/1202/5448060_240X180.jpg

Exclusive Video: Entire 20-Minute Interview w/Thompson, Lowe (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
PDF: Read Indictment (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/download/2008/0430/16081935.pdf)
Video: Father Set For Trial (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Thompson Pleads Not Guilty (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Indictment Says Missing Girl Was Beaten, Denied Medical Care (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Other Kids Removed From Thompson Home (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Indictment Unsealed (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: AG Argues To Keep Thompson Indictment Secret (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: What Took So Long? (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Indictment Doesn't Answer Many Questions (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Chief: Our Investigation Successful (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Aaron Thompson Indicted (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Aaron Thompson Arrested (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: One Year Later (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Coroner: Lowe Died Of Severe Heart Disease (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: D.A. Discusses Grand Jury (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Shely Lowe Dies (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Sam Riddle Reacts (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Chief: Arrest Imminent (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Team Coverage Of Grand Jury (May 4) (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video Archive: 7NEWS Reports (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5477231/detail.html)

COURT CASE
Document: Indictment Against Aaron Thompson (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/download/2008/0430/16081935.pdf)
Document: Read Indictment (pdf) (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/download/2007/0517/13340382.pdf)
Site: Court's Web Site (http://www.courts.state.co.us/exec/media/arapahoe/courtdocs.htm)

BACKGROUND
Images: Who's Who (javascript:popUp('/slideshow/news/5351246/detail.html','width=1024,height=750,top=0,left=0,s crollbars');)
Transcript: Exclusive Interview (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5448639/detail.html)
Timeline: Of Events (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9161018/detail.html)
Survey: Believe Parents? (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)

RESOURCES
Got Info? Call (303) 739-6050
Order Child Safety Kit (http://ga0.org/campaign/PKF_website_child_safety_kit)
National Center For Missing and Exploited Children (http://www.missingkids.com/)

BISHOP PHILLIPS & LOWE
Video: Bishop In Insurance Business? (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)
Video: Exclusive Investigation: Lowe's Life Insurance (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html#)


http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19782680/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

Jury selection to start in missing girl's trial
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Map, News) -
Jury selection is expected to begin Monday in the trial of a man accused in the 2005 disappearance of his daughter, who is presumed dead.

Aaron Thompson will stand trial in Arapahoe County District Court after being indicted in 2007 on 60 counts, including fatal child abuse in the disappearance of his daughter Aarone. She would've been 6 when Thompson reported her missing in November 2005.

Police say she may have died as early as 2003 but they have not found her body.

Thompson faces up to 54 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

The indictment against Thompson alleges Aarone was malnourished, beaten, and not given proper medical care.

http://www.examiner.com/a-2149770~Jury_selection_to_start_in_missing_girl_s_ trial.html

[Nut44x4]

Trial to open Friday in case of missing girl

Associated Press - August 6, 2009 8:34 PM ET

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - A jury has been seated and opening statements are set in the trial of a man accused in the presumed death of his daughter who may have been dead two years before he contacted authorities in 2005.

Opening arguments are scheduled Friday morning in the trial of Aaron Thompson. He faces 60 charges, including fatal child abuse in the disappearance of his daughter Aarone (AIR'-uh-nay).

Aurora police suspected foul play when among other things, Thompson couldn't provide recent pictures of the girl when he reported her missing in November 2005. She would have been 6.

Thompson faces 54 years in prison if convicted on all counts, which include allegations that Aarone was malnourished, beaten, and not given proper medical care.

http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10863118

[Nut44x4]

The Denver Post
August 11, 2009 Tuesday

Cops suspicious from start Police testify they thought early that there was more to Aaroné Thompson's reported runaway.

CENTENNIAL - By the second day of the investigation, police had a pretty good idea the reported disappearance of Aaroné Thompson was no ordinary runaway case.

In the first full day of testimony Monday in the trial of Aaroné's father, police said that even early in the investigation evidence pointed to foul play, although they still treated it as a missing-child case.

Aaron Thompson faces charges of child abuse resulting in death and abuse of a corpse. He reported Aaroné missing on Nov. 14, 2005, after a fight about a cookie, but police believe she was killed two years earlier.

The body of the girl, who would have been 6 years old at the time of her reported disappearance, has never been found.

After searching the girl's home on East Kepner Drive, combing their Aurora neighborhood and talking to family members for more than 14 hours, former Aurora Police Capt. Ricky Bennett testified he had a face-to-face meeting with Thompson in the early hours of Nov. 15.

"I looked him square in the eyes and said, 'If there is anything else …' and Mr. Thompson looked away and said, 'No, just help find my child."'

Bennett later acknowledged that the encounter was a little tense.

Bennett was among several officers to testify in Arapahoe County District Court on Monday. Most said Thompson appeared calm and subdued in the days after filing the missing-child report while his live-in girlfriend, Shelley Lowe, was angry and used derogatory language against police. He was cooperative, according to police; she was combative and refused to let police interview the children in the home.

Neighbors were interviewed, but no one reported seeing the girl in some time or perhaps ever. She had not been enrolled in school.

And when a bloodhound was sent over to the home to help in the search, the family could not produce a single piece of clothing that the dog could track, according to testimony.

When Jefferson County Deputy Allen Nelson, who brought the bloodhound in to help in the search, asked Thompson if he had any soiled clothing belonging to Aaroné, Thompson said, "I don't have anything like that," Nelson said.

Not a toothbrush, bedsheets or a shoe, he said.

Police also interviewed Lowe's younger brother, who was living with the family, about the last time he had seen Aaroné. He gave inconsistent answers, and after two questions Lowe stopped the interrogation.

Both Thompson and Lowe were considered persons of interest in the death, but Lowe died of heart failure about a year before a grand jury indicted Thompson on 60 criminal counts in 2007.

During opening statements on Friday, the defense suggested that Lowe was responsible for Aaroné's death, and that Thompson was guilty of trying to cover it up. Thompson also faces child-abuse charges for alleged beatings of other children living in the home.

Also Monday, an alternate juror told the court that she and perhaps other jurors were intimidated by a man who had been spotted in the courtroom on Friday and rode a motorcycle and stared at them after court in a parking lot.

But after talking with the man, District Judge Valeria Spencer learned that he was a student who was trying to get an internship with another judge. The female alternate juror remained on the panel.

The trial is expected to last between four and six weeks.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:1021123481&start=11

[Roamer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_girl_colorado


Wed Aug 12, 8:37 pm ET

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – A witness in the trial of a Colorado man charged with fatal child abuse in his daughter's disappearance says he was told the girl was dead and buried in a field.

The testimony came Wednesday in the trial of Aaron Thompson of Aurora, who is charged with fatal child abuse in the disappearance of his daughter Aarone (AIR'-uh-nay). Authorities believe she died two years before she was reported missing.

Eric Williams Sr. testified that Shely Lowe, his former girlfriend who later lived with Thompson, told him that Aarone stopped breathing while taking a bath. Williams says Lowe told him that she and Thompson buried the girl in a field.

Lowe died of heart failure in 2006, about six months after Thompson reported Aarone missing.

Defense attorneys have said that Thompson was trying to cover up Aarone's death at the hands of Lowe.

[sarahhod]

Jurors see video of man lying to police

Associated Press - August 11, 2009 6:24 PM ET

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - Jurors watched a video of a man on trial in the death of his daughter as he lied to police about her whereabouts hours after he reported her missing.
Aaron Thompson reported Aarone (AIR'-uh-nay) Thompson missing in November 2005, two weeks shy of her 7th birthday. Prosecutors say Aarone died in 2003.
Thompson told police about how she watched cartoons, ate cereal, and cookies the day she went missing. Investigators became suspicious when he couldn't provide recent pictures of Aarone.
Defense attorneys said last week during opening statements that Thompson was trying to cover up Aarone's death at the hands of his live-in girlfriend, Shely Lowe, who died of heart failure in 2006.
Thompson is charged with fatal child abuse.

http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10887185

[sarahhod]

Thompson told cops 'Somebody got my daughter'

written by: Carlos Illescas, The Denver Post, posted by: Sara Gandy updated by: Jeffrey Wolf http://www.9news.com/graphics/bullet1.gif 1 day ago



CENTENNIAL - Aaron Thompson of Aurora is on trial in Arapahoe County District Court for the death of his daughter Aarone, who was reported missing in 2005. The girl would have been 6 years old at the time of her disappearance. Her body has not been found.


Electronic devices cannot transmit from the courtroom, but The Denver Post will provide trial updates when possible.

1:43 p.m. Lunch break is over and prosecutors resumed playing the DVD recording of Aaron Thompson's interview with police made the day he reported his daughter missing.

Det. Chris Fanning says it is "strange" that Thompson doesn't allow his kids to have friends. "We keep 'em tight," Thompson tells him.

Fanning then puts the pressure on Thompson.

Fanning: "If we don't find her soon, there's going to be a whole lot of detectives assigned to this case. They can't find her. We are going to be around your house, around a lot of places. You don't have anywhere for us to look."

Thompson: "You know how we feel."

Fanning: "We don't have witnesses and we don't have a lot of things that are corroborating what you are saying. So if there is something, Aaron, I'm begging you at this point ...

Thompson: "I ain't touched my child. I don't know what to do. It's my baby girl, man. I don't know what to do."

Near the conclusion of the interview, Fanning leaves the interrogation room. Alone, Thompson appears exhausted and puts his heads on the table, sighs, then sits back up.

"Aaroné, where are you, man?" he mutters. "Where are you Aaroné?"

11:20 a.m. Prosecutors play a DVD of a police interview with Aaron Thompson, late on the night of Nov. 14, 2005, when Aaroné was first reported missing.

Thompson is sitting alone at a table wearing a dark green shirt in a tiny interview room. After a few minutes, Aurora Police Det. Chris Fanning enters the room.

He asks Thompson about his day and Thompson says he took his son, Eric, to school. When he got back, Thompson said, "Aaroné's up and I told her to go take a bath and get dressed."

Thompson said Aaroné ran her bath water "but I think she just washed up."

He and Aaroné and another daughter go downstairs to watch TV.

At about noon, he makes them a bowl of cereal. After they finish, Aaroné has a cookie and then asks for more.

"I look at her and she just standing there. I said 'I ain't giving you no more cookies. Come down here and sit down.' She came down and sit by me then went back up to her room."

That was about 12:30 p.m. Thompson said.

After about 20 minutes, "I just got that feeling," Thompson told Fanning. He said it was too quiet so he went back upstairs to check on Aaroné. He looked in her closet, under her bed, in the boys' bedroom but could not find her anywhere, he said.

At that point he wakes up Shelley Lowe.

"Then I started panicking a little bit," Thompson told Fanning. "I told Shelley to keep looking for her, I'm going to go in the truck and look around the neighborhood."

Thompson says he checks a nearby park and strip mall, but does not see her. He goes back to the home and calls police, but does not use the emergency 911 number.

Police arrive and search the house and area, but find no sign of Aaroné.

Close to midnight, Thompson drives to police to headquarters after agreeing to a comprehensive, recorded interview.

Fanning: "Why do you think she left?"

Thompson: "The only scenario I could see, she seen her brother and Rajon do it so she figures she could do it herself and come back. Only thing going through my head."

Fanning: "What do you think happened to her?"

Thompson: "I don't like to say things ... The longer they go, the worse I'm thinking about her."

Fanning continues to quiz Thompson about where the child could be.

Thompson: "I don't know whether she went left or right, man."

Fanning: Who would have been able to do this, to take her away for a long period of time?"

Thompson: "Nobody."

Fanning: "What do you think should happen to somebody who harms kids?"

Thompson: "I think they should get arrested.

"Somebody got my daughter right now."

9:45 a.m. Tape is played of interview with Aarone's brother, Thompson and Lowe's biological son.

He says the last time he saw Aaroné was at about 5:30 or 6 a.m. on the day she was reported missing. He says he saw her on the bottom bunk of a bunkbed set. The boy was about to jump in the shower and get ready for school when he saw her.

Officer Rachel Nuñez asks if he has seen any recent pictures of Aaroné, and he says yes, when they went to the mountains and to the beach in Florida a year earlier.

He says both Shelley Lowe and Aaron Thompson would hit the kids when they got in trouble, with a belt on the butt over the clothes and on the skin.

Sometimes another sister would get five "whacks" for getting in trouble, the brother said.

The officer asks the boy if Aarone's looks have changed since a picture of her was taken a few years earlier. He says she is taller and bigger and has different hair.

"I hope they find her because I am missing her," he says of Aaroné.

9:18 a.m. Interview with another child in the home is played. The police sergeant asks similar questions.

"She was laying down in bed," the girl said.

Authorities say Thompson and his live-in girlfriend, Shelley Lowe, coached the kids on what to say.

8:40 a.m. Prosecution plays an audio recording of an interview between Aurora police Sgt. Rachel Nuñez and Aaroné's stepsister. Nuñez asks the girl several questions about their homelife, including what happens when they get in trouble.

"If we lie about it, we either get a whoopin' or (inaudible)," the girl says.

The officer then asks the girl if she knows where Aaroné is and the girl answers, "I have no clue."

She said the last time she saw her was the morning she was reported missing.

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=121101&catid=339

[sarahhod]

Other articles:-

Witness in CO trial says missing girl was buried (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieA2a24VBntmuneLYulD-DKK6qiwD9A1M0D00)

The Associated Press - ‎12 hours ago‎
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A witness in the trial of a Colorado man charged with fatal child abuse in his daughter's disappearance says he was told the girl was ...



Jury told of close call with police (http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_13048975)

Denver Post - Carlos Illescas (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Carlos+Illescas%22&scoring=n), Barry Osborne (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Barry+Osborne%22&scoring=n) - ‎5 hours ago‎
CENTENNIAL — Aaron Thompson and Shelley Lowe were pulled over by police on the night they buried his daughter, Lowe's former boyfriend ...



Other children expected to testify in Aaron Thompson trial (http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2009/08/12/news/metro_aurora/doc4a833680116a8013141932.txt)

The Aurora Sentinel - Brandon Johansson (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Brandon+Johansson%22&scoring=n) - ‎12 hours ago‎
AURORA | As Aaron Thompson's trial wears on in the coming days and weeks, jurors are expected to hear lengthy testimony from the other ...



Ex-beau says Lowe told him of burying Aaroné (http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13044393)

Denver Post - Carlos Illescas (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Carlos+Illescas%22&scoring=n) - ‎15 hours ago‎
Aarone Thompson was reported missing in 2005, but police say she might have been dead for two years. Her father is on trial. ...



Former Lover Tells Jury Lowe Was 'Baby Killer' (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/20373322/detail.html)

TheDenverChannel.com - ‎11 hours ago‎
CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The jury in the Aaron Thompson case got a better idea Wednesday what may have happened to the 6-year-old Aurora girl when the longtime ...



Jurors see video of man lying to police (http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10887185)

KJCT8.com - ‎Aug 11, 2009‎
AP - August 11, 2009 6:24 PM ET CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - Jurors watched a video of a man on trial in the death of his daughter as he lied to police about ...



Kids Tell Cops They Saw Aarone 2 Days Before She Disappeared (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/20358657/detail.html)

TheDenverChannel.com - ‎Aug 11, 2009‎
CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Aaron Thompson was calm, quiet, and cooperative when he told Aurora police he was just as confused about his daughter Aarone's ...



Officers Testify On Day 1 Of Aaron Thompson Trial (http://cbs4denver.com/local/thompson.aaron.trial.2.1122685.html)

cbs4denver.com - Terry Jessup (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Terry+Jessup%22&scoring=n) - ‎Aug 10, 2009‎
The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. ...



Thompson Trial Juror Stays After Intimidation Complaint (http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/20347442/detail.html)

TheDenverChannel.com - ‎Aug 10, 2009‎
CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Day Two of the Aaron Thompson case took some unusual twists Monday after a juror told Judge Valieria Spencer's bailiff that someone ...



Thompson spooked juror stays on the panel (http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_13030508)

Denver Post - Carlos Illescas (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Carlos+Illescas%22&scoring=n) - ‎Aug 10, 2009‎
Aaron Thompson, center, and one of his defense attorneys, James O' Connor, listen during the opening statements of his trial. ...



Aurora dad said he panicked when Aarone vanished (http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=121154&catid=346)

9NEWS.com - Carlos Illescas (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Carlos+Illescas%22&scoring=n), Colleen Locke (http://news.google.com/news/search?ned=us&hl=en&q=author%3A%22Colleen+Locke%22&scoring=n) - ‎Aug 12, 2009‎
CENTENNIAL- In an interview with police the day he reported his daughter missing, Aaron Thompson said he started "panicking" when he searched the home and ...

[sarahhod]

Jury hears from children in missing girl's case
[/URL]
Aug 18, 2009 6:33 PM (41 mins ago) AP

» 41 mins ago: Jury hears from children in missing girl's case «
4 days ago: Officer believed family visit prompted coverup (http://www.examiner.com/a-2174681%7EJury_hears_from_children_in_missing_girl _s_case.html#articleComments)
5 days ago: Witness in missing girl trial says girl was buried (http://www.examiner.com/a-2165797%7EWitness_in_missing_girl_trial_says_girl_ was_buried.html)
7 days ago: Jurors see video of man lying to police (http://www.examiner.com/a-2163775%7EJurors_see_video_of_man_lying_to_police. html)
11 days ago: Colo. man admits girl died before missing report (http://www.examiner.com/a-2158359%7EColo__man_admits_girl_died_before_missin g_report.html)
11 days ago: Prosecutor: Girl likely dead before missing report (http://www.examiner.com/a-2158082%7EProsecutor__Girl_likely_dead_before_miss ing_report.html)
11 days ago: Prosecutors open case against missing girl's dad (http://www.examiner.com/a-2157793%7EProsecutors_open_case_against_missing_gi rl_s_dad.html)
11 days ago: Trial to open Friday in case of missing girl (http://www.examiner.com/a-2157337%7ETrial_to_open_Friday_in_case_of_missing_ girl.html)
12 days ago: Trial expected to start in case of missing girl (http://www.examiner.com/a-2156368%7ETrial_expected_to_start_in_case_of_missi ng_girl.html)
15 days ago: Jury selection begins in missing girl's trial (http://www.examiner.com/a-2150917%7EJury_selection_begins_in_missing_girl_s_ trial.html)

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Map (http://www.examiner.com/map.cfm?map_location=CENTENNIAL,%20Colo.), News (http://www.examiner.com/Dateline-CENTENNIAL%2C%20ColopRD.html)) - Jurors in the trial of a man accused in the disappearance of his daughter saw video interviews of children living in the same home telling authorities they had not seen the girl in "a very long time."The video interviews were played Tuesday as the trial of Aaron Thompson (http://www.examiner.com/Subject-Aaron_Thompson.html) enters its third week. He's charged with fatal child abuse in the death of his daughter Aarone (AIR'-uh-nay). Thompson reported her missing in November 2005 but authorities say she may have been dead for at least two years by then.
She would've been 6 when she was reported missing.
A child in the Thompson home told investigators a few days after the reported disappearance that he didn't remember the last time he saw Aarone.


The girl's body hasn't been found.
---

[url]http://www.examiner.com/a-2174681~Jury_hears_from_children_in_missing_girl_s _case.html

[Faith]

Man gets 106 years for daughter's disappearance

3:32 p.m. CST, November 10, 2009

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - An Aurora man convicted in the disappearance and presumed death of his daughter was sentenced Tuesday to 106 years behind bars.

Arapahoe County District Judge Valeria Spencer's voice cracked with emotion during the hearing where she sentenced Aaron Thompson, 42, and told him he had failed as a father and as a man.

Thompson was convicted Sept. 28 of 31 counts, including fatal child abuse, nearly four years after his daughter Aarone was reported missing. For years, he told police that she had run away because of an argument over a cookie, but then admitted at the start of his trial that his daughter was dead. He blamed his live-in girlfriend, Shely Lowe, for the girl's death.

Aarone, who would have turned 11 on Nov. 30, has not been found. Prosecutors allege she died up to two years before she was reported missing while being punished for bed wetting.

"You will be held accountable that a child is no longer on the face of this earth because of your behavior," Spencer said before handing down the sentence, adding that even if Lowe, who died of heart failure in 2006, was more to blame for the death, Thompson should have done something. "You have failed as a father. You have failed as a man. You had no courage when courage was called for."

Thompson declined to speak. He showed no emotion as he sat at the defense table, hands at this side.

Among those who asked the judge for a stiff sentence was Aarone's mother, Lynette Thompson of Detroit, who said Aaron Thompson should be drawing a map to lead investigators to her daughter's body. She said she planned to mail a card to him on holidays with a picture of her daughter and the initials "WIAP," for "Where is Aarone Please."

"I think someday it will be revealed," Lynette Thompson said outside of court, adding she was pleased with the sentence. "He needs to pay."

Lynette Thompson said Aaron Thompson was a "good gentleman" when she married him years ago. Her daughter, 19-year-old Shaunterius Johnson, said Aaron Thompson took care of her since she was 3, and she never thought he would commit such a crime.

Thompson's mother, Earia Cloman of Detroit, testified by phone that her son is a hard worker and took care of his children and others.

"He's not the monster he's made out to be," she said. "Please realize these things when you are sentencing him."

Thompson also was convicted of charges involving the beatings of seven other children who lived with him and Lowe.

During the sentencing hearing, Spencer and Prosecutor Amy Richards recounted details of the trial, including testimony from the children who said Thompson was the "enforcer," meting out punishment on Lowe's orders. Spencer said the house was a "torture chamber" and described how one of the children was held upside down by the ankles while his head was dipped in a toilet as punishment for bed wetting.

Spencer's voice cracked as she talked about how one of the surviving children described touching Aarone's fingers that were poking out from underneath the door of a closet where she was locked for hours.

Outside of court, prosecutor Robert Chappell said when Aarone's DNA was discovered on the bottom of the closet door in February 2007, it gave investigators their break in the case, corroborating testimony from the children.

"For the longest time it didn't look like we were going to be able to get any charges," Chappell said.

Aaron Thompson, faced with an upcoming visit from family, reported his daughter missing in November 2005, leading to a massive search. Police became suspicious when the family could not provide recent pictures of Aarone or recently worn clothes.

Thompson will serve 12 years in jail before starting his 94-year prison sentence. He also was ordered to pay prosecution costs.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-us-missinggirl-color,0,7316158.story

[awakening2lite]

Last Updated: November 11. 2009 1:00AM
106 years for missing girl's dad

Detroit mother says ex-husband 'needs to pay' in apparent death



The mother of a young girl who disappeared and is presumed dead said she plans to mail a card to the girl's father on holidays with a picture of her daughter and the initials "WIAP," for "Where is Aarone Please."

Lynette Thompson of Detroit said Aaron Thompson should be drawing a map to lead investigators to her daughter Aarone's body. "I think someday it will be revealed," Thompson said outside a Colorado court where Aaron Thompson of Aurora, Colo., was sentenced Tuesday, adding she was pleased with the sentence. "He needs to pay."

Aaron Thompson was convicted in the disappearance and presumed death of his daughter. He was sentenced to 114 years behind bars.

Arapahoe County District Judge Valeria Spencer's voice cracked with emotion when she sentenced Thompson, 42, and told him he had failed as a father and as a man.

Thompson showed no emotion as he sat at the defense table, hands at this sides.

Lynette Thompson said Aaron Thompson was a "good gentleman" when she married him years ago. Her daughter, 19-year-old Shaunterius Johnson, said Aaron Thompson had taken care of her since she was 3, and she never thought he would commit such a crime.

Aaron Thompson's mother, Earia Cloman of Detroit, testified by phone that her son is a hard worker and took care of his children.

Thompson was convicted Sept. 28 of 31 counts, including fatal child abuse, nearly four years after Aarone was reported missing. For years, he told police that she had run away because of an argument over a cookie, but then admitted at the start of his trial that his daughter was dead. He blamed his live-in girlfriend, Shely Lowe, for the girl's death.

Aarone, who would have turned 11 on Nov. 30, has not been found. Prosecutors allege she died up to two years before she was reported missing while being punished for bed wetting.

Thompson also was convicted of charges involving the beatings of seven other children who lived with him and Lowe.

During the sentencing hearing, Spencer and Prosecutor Amy Richards recounted details of the trial, including testimony from the children who said Thompson was the "enforcer," meting out punishment on Lowe's orders. Spencer's voice cracked as she talked about how one of the surviving children described touching Aarone's fingers that were poking out from underneath the door of a closet where she was locked for hours.

http://detnews.com/article/20091111/METRO01/911110363/106-years-for-missing-girl-s-dad

[Pandabear]

So many people let this poor child down. I'm glad to read that this monster will pay for what he did to her.

RIP Aarone. :1222423:

[Nut44x4]

About 50 gather at birthday memorial to Aaroné Thompson
Updated: 12/01/2009 02:03:53 AM MST

AURORA — On what would have been her 11th birthday, many people involved in the Aaroné Thompson case gathered Monday evening for a candlelight memorial in honor of the little girl and others like her who died of abuse.

"It's a family that lost a child, but it's also a community, a state, a nation that lost a child," said Dr. Andrew Sirotnak of the Kempe Center, which hosted the service at Children's Hospital. "In many ways, this is a way to say goodbye to Aaroné."

Aaroné would have been 6 years old when she was reported missing from her Aurora home in November 2005, but police believe she died two years earlier.

Her father, Aaron Thompson, was sentenced this year to more than 100 years in prison. He was convicted of numerous counts, including child abuse resulting in death.

On Monday, the 50 or so who gathered at the playground at Children's, mostly those involved in the case, recalled how one of the most high-profile cases in Colorado in recent memory affected their lives and how everyone needs to be more involved in the lives of children.

"It's a sad statistic. Most of the child homicides that are committed in our country are committed by parents," Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers said. "We all need to be investing in our kids."

Aaroné's aunt, Leah Terry, thanked police and everyone who worked on the case, then read a letter from Aaroné's mother, Lynette Thompson, who lives in Michigan and could not attend the memorial.

"My daughter Aaroné was every true meaning of a princess," Thompson wrote. "Aaroné is smiling down on me and the rest of my family."

For many, the memorial likely will be the closest they get to closure, as Aaroné's body has not been found and Thompson has refused to say where the child is buried.

"Aaroné, we are sad we never heard you laugh, play or grow," Aurora police chaplain Jim Henderson said. "Let us never forget Aaroné Thomp son and all the other children that suffered similar fates."
http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_13897358